The Babylonian king MerodachBaladan (721-710 BC) personally
grew 64 different species of plants
including cardamom, coriander,
thyme, saffron and turmeric.
Interestingly, for religious reasons,
some of the plants were only
harvested by moonlight.
By 6th century BC, condiments like
onion,
garlic
and
shallots
were
extremely popular in Persia.
Indians have been using various forms of spices (like black
pepper, turmeric and cardamom) for thousands of years. These
condiments were used, like in many ancient civilisations, both for
flavour and for medicinal purposes. There is anecdotal proof of
this cultivation as early as 8th century BC.
Around 4th century BC, Sashruta, an ancient surgeon, made use
of white mustard for religious purposes and applied sesame
extract on post-operative wounds. The latter might have possibly
acted as an anti-septic ointment.
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